Shuttle Plate Guide Blocks for IC Conveyance Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional IC device conveying apparatuses face challenges in accurately conveying IC devices with varying dimensions without using multiple change kits, leading to costly and troublesome exchanges, and potential misalignment during conveyance, which can result in inaccurate measurements.
Innovation Solution
An electronic component conveying apparatus featuring a conveyance plate with interposing-and-retaining units and a lattice plate that adjusts to accommodate different dimensions, along with a shuttle plate equipped with guide blocks and optical sensors to ensure accurate positioning and retention of IC devices, eliminating the need for multiple change kits and ensuring proper alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If multiple change kits with different dimensions are prepared for each IC device type, then each IC device can be accurately retained, but the cost and complexity of managing multiple kits increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single shuttle table with a universal retaining structure that can accommodate multiple IC device types with different dimensions. The table uses a grid pattern with adjustable guide blocks and a standardized pocket structure that can be reconfigured through software control, eliminating the need for multiple specialized retaining tools for different IC types.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional retaining tools are used for each IC device type, then accurate retention is achieved, but the time and effort required to exchange kits increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamics by making the retaining structure adjustable and reconfigurable. The guide blocks and pocket positions can be dynamically adjusted according to the specific IC device dimensions being handled, allowing the same physical table to adapt to different device types without manual kit exchanges. This dynamic reconfiguration is achieved through adjustable mechanisms that can be quickly modified between different IC types.
3Ease of operation
If slide guide plates are used to fix IC devices, then conveyance is enabled, but the IC device may be moved or deviate from fixed position if tightening screws become loose
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary retaining structure consisting of guide blocks and pockets that mediate between the conveyance system and the IC device. These intermediary elements provide positive mechanical retention through a grid-based pocket system that securely holds the device in place during conveyance, preventing position deviation while still enabling smooth movement along the conveyance path.
4Ease of operation
If IC devices are fixed at an angle relative to the shuttle plate surface, then conveyance is achieved, but the device may be set at an angle in the measuring unit resulting in inaccurate measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry through the design of guide blocks with specific geometric configurations that force the IC device into a proper horizontal orientation during conveyance. The asymmetric shape of the guide blocks and the corresponding pocket structures create natural alignment features that prevent the device from being fixed at incorrect angles, ensuring it arrives at the measuring unit in the correct orientation for accurate measurement.
Data Source
AI summary
A first and second guide block pieces retain a plurality of electronic components in an electronic component retention space formed and fixed on a shuttle plate by using a position determination hole formed in advance in accordance with a distance between a pair of opposing corners of a bottom surface of an electronic component, and by emitting light ranging from one end portion to the other end portion of the shuttle plate along an upper surface of a plurality of electronic components interposed and retained between the electronic component interposing-and-retaining portions along longitudinal directions of the first and second guide block pieces, an optical sensor detects that the emitted light is blocked by an irregularly inclined electronic component.